Six Flags Great America (SFGAm) Discussion Thread

[EricGarbo]

My main gripes are over operation and stupid-long entrance and exit queues. But with all the complaints, I still love my home park and think it's one of (if not) the best in the chain.

 

Unless you cut the line short on the park side of the bridge the American Eagle has one of the dumbest queues on any ride. Isn't it crazy that a queue for a Batman: The Ride is the one of the shortest in the park?

[Airtime&Gravity]

^I've seen Eagle's line get up to the switchbacks at the entrance, and again by Dare Devil Dive, so yes, it does need to be as long as it is.

 

My issues with the park is the lack of shade apart from the bridges and the go-karts located in Yukon Territory.

 

I can't wait to hear the specs on this new coaster, while it looks to have a short but compact layout, given what we've seen from RMC, this should be a great coaster.

[EricGarbo]

^I've seen Eagle's line get up to the switchbacks at the entrance, and again by Dare Devil Dive, so yes, it does need to be as long as it

 

I've seen that, too, but that's usually when it's an unusually busy day and there's only one side running.

[GayCoasterGuy]

Isn't it crazy that a queue for a Batman: The Ride is the one of the shortest in the park?

 

You haven't lived until you've pushed a person in a wheel chair up that exit ramp. Or Eagle's. Or Raging Bulls. Or Vipers. True hell. Pushing a wheel chair up an inclined ramp for 1/3 of a mile is bad, but trying to accommodate exiting hordes of riders and then waiting at the small/congested exits to those stations... my gosh. The person who designed those exit ways should have a full time job of assisting wheel chair patrons all summer long. With overtime.

 

Cedar Point did their exits right. I'll give em that Even Indiana Beach and Hersheypark have dedicated elevators.

[TunaSled]

Despite all of the Six Flags sabotage the Gurnee park has retained much of its old charm and is continuing to develop it for the better.

There are carnival games hiding most of the "old charm". I forget where Rue le Dodge is at this point! Three point challenges and ladder climbs are worse than ad wraps and flatscreen monitors in my opinion.

[EricGarbo]

Despite all of the Six Flags sabotage the Gurnee park has retained much of its old charm and is continuing to develop it for the better.

There are carnival games hiding most of the "old charm". I forget where Rue le Dodge is at this point! Three point challenges and ladder climbs are worse than ad wraps and flatscreen monitors in my opinion.

 

I try very hard to forget about the existence of three point challenges, ladder climbs, and guess your weight/age games. They're so temporary in their design that I hope they disappear and never leave a permanent mark on the park. I 'love' seeing rides with understaffed operations when there's a thousand people standing around the park on dead days operating this stupid games.

[Olsor]

While many things were "nicer," remember that there were only 3 coasters (or 2 or 4/5, depending on the year you're thinking). I remember Tidal Wave and Demon having 45 to hour waits on the weekends, and Whizzer was always under 30 minutes (even with a full queue). The efficiencies now are probably 1/2 of what they were in 1980 (or even less, in Whizzer's case; compare 2,200pph compared to whatever they do now), BUT there were less rides.

 

Now that I'm thinking of it, Demon and Whizzer probably have longer waits on busy weekends now... but at least you have more to chose from these days

 

Very much THIS. I just took my nine-year-old nephew last week, and he could hardly tolerate any line longer than five minutes. I told him when I first went to the park in 1988, there were five roller coasters, and a half-hour line was considered short.

 

the American Eagle has one of the dumbest queues on any ride

 

This bears repeating.

 

Isn't it crazy that a queue for a Batman: The Ride is the one of the shortest in the park?

 

And I remember when it opened and the line started in Orleans Place behind Cajun Cliffhanger... and was 2 1/2 hours long. I also remember Shockwave's line extending out into the midway and under the train bridge.

[EricGarbo]

I was watching this video on Wimp. Notice anything funny about the intro?

 

http://www.wimp.com/vacuumexperiment/

[willthegolfer]

I was watching this video on Wimp. Notice anything funny about the intro?

 

http://www.wimp.com/vacuumexperiment/

 

We're getting a science lab?

[LoopScreweD]

The exact same smashing rock with a logo as follow the journey.

[CMV]

The Eagle's old queue in the circus tent (one of the odd features of the park I'm glad they kept around) was pretty ridiculous back in the day, at least until the mid to late 80's. A constantly shuffling mass of humanity where one couldn't really even see the coaster you were waiting for.

 

Z-Force used to have people spilling out on to the midway, and a lot of rubberneckers would just stop and stare at the structure (which to me, always looked cooler at night). If I had to pick one queue I really miss, it would have to be the Tidal Wave, with the sand, beach grass, and weathered rope and post accents. Now THAT was theming just for theming's sake.

 

Anyone who hasn't checked out Steven's site is missing some incredible stuff.

[GayCoasterGuy]

The Eagle's old queue in the circus tent (one of the odd features of the park I'm glad they kept around) was pretty ridiculous back in the day, at least until the mid to late 80's. A constantly shuffling mass of humanity where one couldn't really even see the coaster you were waiting for.

 

I remember never stopping... you kept walking and walking. Ahhh... 6 train ops with rare stacks. I think that ended around 85 or 86?

[PocketCookie]

Well Ragin' Cajun is leaving the park. (unless SFA is just getting a copy)

[Barge84]

If I had to pick one queue I really miss, it would have to be the Tidal Wave, with the sand, beach grass, and weathered rope and post accents. Now THAT was theming just for theming's sake.

 

I hadn't thought about that queue in a long time. I was pretty young, but I remember thinking it had the coolest theming in the park.

[thedirtyspaniard]

Well Ragin' Cajun is leaving the park. (unless SFA is just getting a copy)

 

Source?

[ArizonaGuy]

Well Ragin' Cajun is leaving the park. (unless SFA is just getting a copy)

 

Source?

 

Pictures posted

Six Flags America thread

[EricGarbo]

So I asked off of work and got approved for Thursday morning. I will be at the groundbreaking ceremony and will take lots of photographs and be sure to write down the best parts of Hank's speech. I will report back to this thread on TPR. Will anyone else from TPR be there in two days? It would be great to get together at the event and talk about/record what is going on. Unfortunately I will not be streaming the event for everyone at home. If anyone (Perhaps the guy who streamed the Village Board Meeting?) plans on streaming the event it would be great if we could link it here.

[Vonni]

Perhaps 2015 will be SFGAm year for Skyscreamer, and it will go where Ragin Cajun is? Or possibly an Aqua Twist?

[zombi3elephant9]

Well if they take away Ragin' Cajun, they better find someway to make The Dark Knight coaster spin

[GoBears]

Well if they take away Ragin' Cajun, they better find someway to make The Dark Knight coaster spin

 

Every time I read your posts, I always say them in Christopher Walken's voice.

 

Anyways, I think it's a smart move to relocate RC to SFA. Ragin' Cajun didn't do too well with SFGAm's crowds but should do just fine with SFA. The spot will likely be replaced with a SkyScreamer for 2015 unless SFGAm shocks us with something else.

[RandallDuell]

I guess I don't know how Ragin' hasn't done well with SFGAm crowds, but ok.

 

Your theory makes a lot of sense - the new Iron Wolf-area ride this year, with then predictable Sky Screamer the next year. If that is the spot, it'll be interesting having it so close to park staple Whirligig! I do wonder if Condor will eventually find it's way out of the park?

 

It's funny, but to me Ragin' still seems like a "new" ride - but it will be odd to have the plot of land sitting empty. Not as strange as Splashwater's area sitting empty for as long as it did, but still a strange vacancy to stare at for a year or two or more.

[Airtime&Gravity]

Ragin Cajun hasn't done well with the crowds at SFGAM due to its low RPH. It always seemed to be popular until last year I believe when there seemed to be a strong decline in riders. I wasn't a fan of the ride though, and hopefully it is replaced with something like an Aqua Twist, Sky Screamer, or something unique like a Sky Fly or Sky Roller.

[GayCoasterGuy]

I'm going to miss Ragin Cajun. The capacity is horrible and annoying... but it can be one of the funnest rides in the park. Every time I take a non-coaster friend, it's one of (if not) their favorite rides. I'd rather see Dark Knight go. Or Superman (I know I know, just my personal opinion.)

 

It's too bad they couldn't get the capacity issues worked out. From what I heard, it had more to do with the insurance company and not the park. Great America wanted to run it full capacity (9 cars instead of 5, I believe?).

 

Heck, I'd rather see X-Flight go. But that would be obnoxious

[BenFreeze]

Maybe I'm part of the minority, but I didn't enjoy Ragin' Cajun at all. Though I did only ride it once, the one ride I had on it made me never want to ride it again. I might have just had a bad ride, or my definition of "fun" is completely different than everyone else's.

[DanM64]

I've always enjoyed Cajun, it can give out some insane rides!! I'll definitely miss it.

 

^^The ride program Six Flags installed is why it could never run all 8 cars at once. Dark Knight also never runs all 10. With the program both of them have, it is REALLY easy to get them to set up, and probably only the best of crews could run them at their designed capacity, if at all. I have no doubt it was a corporate thing, SFGAm had no say in it at all.